DENVER - Colorado's oil and gas industry has shut down hundreds of wells in the Denver-Julesburg Basin north of Denver and its employees are using vehicles, boats and - in some cases - helicopters to get to and assess sites impacted by the state's devastating floodwaters.

Once the floodwaters recede, state regulators and the energy companies are expected to tackle the question of environmental contamination from the flood as well as remediation, Mike King, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said Monday.

"The events of the last four or five days have been very astounding and the ramifications, the loss of life and property across Colorado, is staggering," King said.
"This is not going to be fixed overnight and the impacts and ramifications will linger for a long time," he said.

For Colorado's oil and gas industry working in the booming fields north of Denver, impacts vary depending on the location of their operations.